The Teaching Parents Association (TPA) is hosting their 2019 TPA Conference home-school fair April 12 and 13 at Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center. Guest speakers, workshop sessions and vendors, including Newman University, will all be present at the event.
Event organizers aim to aid parents with resources and teaching methods. Connie Albers, a national speaker focusing on homeschooling older adolescents and college transitions, and Israel Wayne, an author and convention speaker for homeschooling and Christian discipleship, will be speaking at the convention.
Alan Oberley, M.S., assistant professor of chemistry, who home-schools his children said attending TPA events in the past “was a great way to see all that was out there.” Oberley also reported knowing other attendees who “have found good things to supplement their home-school experience.”
Cameron Carlson, Ed.D., dean of the School of Education, plans to have Newman representatives present for most of the two-day convention. He hopes this will help introduce Newman and “build community relationships” with this group.
Oberley and Carlson agreed that Newman’s presence at this conference is important for a few reasons. First, this will provide an opportunity to “make sure they (the university) work well with children who are home-schooled,” according to Carlson. He added that the need to “educate all teachers to help all students” also applies to parent teachers.
According to Carlson, many parents seek integrated and contextual learning approaches. Therefore, he anticipates providing methods of teaching, especially in areas of math and science. In addition, Carlson hopes to inform eligible students of the availability of advanced standing courses.
Carlson further explained that there are
TPA is a Christian organization, and a Catholic, private university such as Newman would be a good candidate for those seeking a college education, Carlson said.
According to TPA, members and first-time attendees can attend the 2019 TPA convention for free. Otherwise, registration for the event is $55.
